hair clip
by paws-bells
Summary: ItaSaku fiesta-verse Non-Massacre AU. Follow up to deep fried vegetables. In which the truth finally comes out. In which the cat is let out of the bag. In which Ino makes a big mistake. In which Naruto is definitely not amused.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** hair clip

**Author: **paws_bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** Two-shot (InComplete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5742

**Theme:** LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #14, hair clip

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **fiesta-verse Non-Massacre AU. In which the truth finally comes out. In which the cat is let out of the bag. In which Ino makes a big mistake. In which Naruto is definitely not amused.

**Created on:** 06/05/08

**Completed on:** 03/08/08

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 10/01/09

* * *

**Chapter 1**

* * *

"Sakura-chan!!! Hurry up; we are going to be late!!" Naruto's yowl of impatience could be heard echoing through his heart sister's modest little apartment. A muffled reply was immediately echoed back from the bedroom where the kunoichi was currently occupied, trying to put on her furisode in peace.

"…Naruto, shut up."

The last member of Team Seven muttered with little preamble as he looked, almost boredly, at his fidgety best friend. Naruto was being even more annoying than usual, if that was possible.

Said blonde merely paused and frowned at the spiky, raven-haired Jounin currently lounging lazily on Sakura-chan's living room couch. Both males were dressed in men's kimono as was the norm for attending the traditional street festivals. For once, Naruto had nothing orange on his person. His kimono was a pure black in color, and the fabric truly brought out the newly minted gold of his hair, not to mention his bright blue eyes. Sasuke, on the other hand, had on a charcoal grey kimono that complimented his pale complexion and smoldering onyx eyes.

Naruto placed his hands on his waist. "Teme, don't just sit there and act cool," the blonde grumbled. "We are supposed to meet the rest of the Rookie Nine by eight, in case you forgot. It's nearly eight now, in case you are not aware."

Sasuke was aware, thank you very much. He gave his friend a dirty look.

"News flash, dobe. We are ninjas. Do the math."

"Yes, but we are being restrained!" As if on cue, Naruto started to scratch and claw at the scratchy material of the expensive formal attire that he had on. "I swear, if this wasn't personally chosen by Hinata-chan…!"

Leaning his elbow on the armrest, Sasuke watched with his chin resting on his palm as his teammate made an idiot out of himself.

"Scratching is only going to make it worse," the Uchiha commented baldly, long after Naruto's skin had turned red and irritated, and his costume was all rumpled up and disheveled from his vigorous actions.

The blonde scowled.

"Thanks for telling me now," Naruto muttered sarcastically. Sasuke raised a brow.

"You are welcome." Reluctantly taking his attention off the amusing antics of his best buddy, the Uchiha chose to look around the room with an air of general indifference. Like the rest of Sakura's little apartment, her living room was cozy and inviting. The large windows let in bright sunshine and fresh air, a rather tall shelf of books and knowledgeable scrolls were kept neatly in a corner, the furniture was comfortable and set in neutral earth tones, and the coffee table…

Mild curiosity crept into Sasuke's eyes.

He had seen this somewhere before.

The 'this' in question was a small, intricately designed pocket knife.

The Uchiha straightened slightly from his elegant sprawl on the sofa to inspect the razor sharp weapon with intent fascination. A sense of déjà vu alerted his well honed instincts. He had seen this particular switchblade before. Now, where had he seen it? And most importantly, who had he seen it with?

"Teme, what are you doing?"

His blonde friend enquired after thirty seconds or so of pacing and still no Sakura. Naruto ambled over to see what had caught the attention of the Uchiha so.

"Eh? A small knife?" the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki enquired almost to himself as he, too, squinted at the small, concealable weapon. It was apparent that both men had never known Sakura to own a blade as specially crafted as this, and they would know, trained and sparred with her so often.

"Who do you think gave it to her?" Sasuke asked almost inaudibly, the hint of curiosity evident in his rich bass tone. Naruto turned to regard his teammate, and scratched his chin as he did so.

"What makes you so certain that someone gave it to her?" the blonde asked.

The raven-haired Jounin refrained from rolling his eyes with exasperation. "Use that little bit of matter between your ears once in a while, will you?" The Uchiha easily picked up the pocket knife and turned it ever so slightly this way and that. The small, exquisite weapon glinted beautifully under the ceiling light, and the tiny semi-precious stones encrusted on its hilt gleamed. "Have you ever known Sakura to waste money on pretty little jeweled trinkets like this one?"

Sasuke had a point there. Naruto shook his head reluctantly. If there was one thing synonymous to Team Seven, it was that they were all taught to be brutally practical, even Sakura. A jeweled weapon may be good for decoration purposes, but it would be a dead giveaway during covert missions and Sakura had never been one to collect weaponry anyway, other than those for sensible usage during active duty.

"Besides…." Sasuke inspected the intricate designs that were carved onto the hilt with a careful, expert eye. "This looks like some sort of an heirloom, and I think I have seen it before."

Unfortunately, Naruto did not share the same curiosity as his teammate. He shrugged, and his attention shifted back to the time. "Ah, why do you care who gives it to her anyway? We are going to be late, late, late! Shouldn't that be more important? Right, Sakura-chan?!" Naruto hollered the last sentence down the hall just so that his female teammate could get the point and hurry out already.

Why on earth did females have to preen and primp so much? Sakura-chan was already so pretty that the boys of Team Seven had to literally beat off her suitors with a stick. A very large, thick, and heavily spiked stick. Naruto really had no doubt that tonight would be no different. Their female teammate was going to be happily drifting around the festival stalls with all their friends, completely oblivious as usual, while both Naruto and Sasuke shot protective/cold stares at the overeager men who came too near.

Sakura-chan may be a brilliant medic-nin like baa-chan, and a powerful kunoichi in the battlefield to boot, but when it came to personal relationships it was as if she was somewhat defective. That would make Team Seven a truly authentic group of emotional retards—one oblivious, one shamelessly thick skinned, and the last emotionally constipated.

Naruto muttered to himself as he made faces to nobody in particular, and Sasuke was kept occupied examining the small weapon, turning it this way and that, trying to jolt his memory into remembering just where he had seen it before, thus unraveling this little mystery, but to little success.

And that was exactly how Sakura found her teammates when she finally got out of her room and carefully walked down the hallway and to the living area. Naruto was making odd faces but that wasn't as odd a sight as one would have assumed; she was completely used to seeing her heart's brother behaving strangely as he had done so for years already. Naruto was just endearing like that, she supposed. Then her eyes automatically searched out Sasuke, and she located him just as quickly, of course.

But what she saw him holding in his hand nearly gave her a heart attack.

"Sakura-chan, you finally came out!" Naruto exclaimed immediately the moment he felt her presence. He shook away his thoughts and turned to look at his female teammate. "Let's go already; we are late— Sakura-chan!!"

Naruto's tone was so comically aghast that Sasuke was immediately alerted. The Uchiha reluctantly took his gaze away from his current object of fascination to look over to his two team members.

Her blonde brother was looking so horrified by her attire that Sakura half wondered if she should feel insulted by his currently less than flattering expression.

She frowned at Naruto.

"Do you have a problem with what I'm wearing?"

Despite her level question, even Sasuke knew that this was dangerous territory.

In response, Naruto twitched. It was an involuntary facial tic that was part grimace and part cringe, and the blonde Jounin appeared as if he was having cramps.

"…no, Sakura-chan," Naruto answered obediently at last. "You look very pretty."

The men of Team Seven were so very whipped.

Despite it being a conditioned reply, it was also so very true. Sakura may have been literally covered from neck to toe, but her beautiful, traditional attire only served to highlight her svelte figure and dainty, petite form. The exquisite silk kimono was made from a rich, crimson material, with small delicate floral designs embroidered down the side, her dark blue obi blending beautifully with the elegant furisode and her sweeping, ankle length sleeves indicating to all her status as an unmarried young woman—vibrant, clearly blooming, and in the prime of her youth. Coupled with the soft tendrils of pink-hair that had somehow escaped the small bun that she had tied her hair in, framing her heart-shaped face and bringing attention to her large doe eyes and pink cupid bow lips, the kunoichi was a regular crowd pleaser alright, albeit more or less oblivious to her own appeal.

Naruto groaned mentally, and judging by the somewhat resigned/annoyed look on Sasuke's face, both males were well aware that they were in for an evening of covert guard duty again.

And damn, Naruto was beginning to understand Neji's less-than-pleased reaction when it became known to the Hyuuga that the blonde Jounin was courting his shy, sweet-tempered cousin, respected friend or no. There was just no man fit enough to be with his dear Sakura-chan, and even Sasuke was with him on that point; the Uchiha's silent agreement and participation in fending off the interested male parties spoke volumes even when he himself flatly refused to speak a word on that particular subject.

It did seem that the men of Team Seven were completely determined to see that their female teammate would remain untouched and pure as freshly driven snow for as long as they could ensure it, hopefully until she was well into her mid-forties. Said female was blissfully unaware of the men's aspiring goal, though she did have an inkling that her teammates were a tad too overprotective sometimes, never mind that she was usually able to pull her own weight and more whenever they were in a sticky situation: no, the world of men was evidently a lot more dangerous than fighting and defeating a bunch of S-class nukenin combined.

"Good," Sakura remarked at last, pleased by Naruto's meek answer. "Ino rented this for me. I would hate to tell her that my teammates found it distasteful." The pink-haired female turned in a full circle to fully display the exquisite autumn kimono to the men, both of whom she had long regarded as her brothers. "It's gorgeous, isn't it?"

Naruto could only nod glumly in agreement.

Gorgeous? Yes. Trouble? Yes. Headache? Hell, yes.

Sasuke grunted a noncommittal reply, and returned his attention to the small dagger that he was absently toying in his hand. Sakura frowned imperceptibly, and tried not to reveal too much of her startled apprehension over the Uchiha's overt interest in the one thing that she had clearly forgotten to hide prior to her teammates' visit. This simply would not do; how to divert Sasuke's attention away without being too obvious?

Naruto came to the rescue, fortunately, even though he was not aware of it.

"Alright!! Now that you are finally done primping, Sakura-chan, let's go, let's go, everyone!! Need I remind all of you again that we are already late?!"

Sasuke returned the exquisite little dagger into its jeweled sheath with careless grace, and then replaced the decorative weapon to its original position on the coffee table, idly forsaking the mystery of the origin of the expensive stiletto in favor of frowning subtly at the antsy blond who also happened to be his teammate and best friend.

"…idiot, the night is still young, and the celebration is not even in full swing yet." The Uchiha's tone was flat as usual, but since there was no undertone of genuine irritation to be detected, it was obvious that Sasuke wasn't really annoyed, though he was somewhat put off by Naruto's disgustingly childlike enthusiasm for the street festivals that Konoha celebrates annually. To make things worse, Sakura had also proved time and again that she too shared a similar love for the seasonal celebrations. After all, what was there not to like? To be able to spend time with loved ones and friends, taking in the sights and happy ambience of the village as a whole and enjoying oneself with all of one's precious people.

…Unsurprisingly, the broody, raven-haired Jounin of Team Seven was not a big fan of boisterous crowds, loud noises, and formal kimono. Not that the Uchiha could be blamed for his blatant aversion to the abovementioned points; whenever he happened to be unfortunate enough to be dressed in formal attire in a public area, boisterous crowds (also known as fangirls) generally tended to appear out of nowhere and with no prior warning whatsoever, complete with loud noises and aggressive, rabid-like tendencies. It was really a miracle in itself that he had been somehow convinced (coerced/tricked/browbeaten) by his relentless and ever so resourceful (devious) teammates into faithfully attending the festivals for the seventh year running.

Naruto easily retaliated with an unbelievably juvenile gesture, and fairly rude, too, while he was at it. Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes as his teammate presented him with the bird.

"Naruto, don't do that; it's just plain rude! The both of you can continue with your macho act when we meet the rest, and I'm sorry I took so long. Anyway, let's just go now, alright?"

Sakura quickly took over the conversation before Naruto could do anything too drastic in response and Sasuke could focus his attention back on that damnable piece of expensive dagger that his equally frustrating brother had purposely left here without her prior knowledge. Sakura really had no idea what the Uchiha heir was planning exactly per se, but she had an inkling what his actions were telling her, if the fact that he was calmly, surely and sneakily invading her life and filling her cozy little home with more and more evidences of his presence was to be of any indication. Granted that Sakura hadn't exactly been aware of what was going on at first, but it was startlingly obvious to her now just what he was up to, and although it might be too late to do anything much, Sakura was still trying her best to do some damage control.

It had been almost three months since her accidental meeting with Itachi in that training ground during the summer festival and exactly two months since Itachi had declared his interest in pursuing a relationship with her. Sakura had been apprehensive over the powerful Uchiha's suit at first, but two months later and the fact that Itachi appeared, for all intents and purposes, to be subtly moving himself into her apartment (oh, he probably thought that he was being so very sly, and that she wouldn't notice how he was spending more and more of his time over at her place whenever he was free from his duties, as well as how she was beginning to notice more and more of his belongings strewn unobtrusively and seemingly carelessly around the house as if they had always belonged there) Sakura was starting to cotton on to the fact that Itachi wasn't joking when it came to courting her.

Thinking of the quietly assertive Uchiha and his dark, onyx eyes whenever he looked at her never failed to induce a light dusting of soft pink on her cheeks, and now was no different. As a grumbling Naruto followed Sasuke out of the apartment with Sakura in tow, the kunoichi could only silently thank the gods for the little reprieve that the heavens had seen fit to gift her with.

By some form of miracle and luck, the boys of Team Seven were still not yet aware of the fact that their sweet, lovely Sakura-chan had already been taken and thoroughly poached away from right under their very noses. Of course, Sakura knew that it was going to be pandemonium when Naruto and Sasuke finally found out, and she was really surprised that they hadn't realized yet that she was now in a relationship with Uchiha Itachi, of all people. Sasuke was definitely going to be so chagrinned. Besides, the boys were normally rather keen-eyed and sharp-eared when it came to news that had to do with her and a potential suitor, almost like a pair of bulldogged sharks really, and although Sakura hadn't exactly openly announced her newly attached status to the world at large, Itachi had made certain that they weren't hiding their fledgling but steady relationship either.

Belatedly, Sakura decided to be relieved over the fact that Itachi had been kept too busy teaching the ropes to the new ANBU recruits these couple of months to openly tease/challenge her teammates. In fact, the Uchiha heir was currently out on a practice run with a newly assembled team, testing their mettle as well as ability to work as a well-oiled, fully functional unit. It was just one of the many duties allotted to the few elites holding the rank of ANBU captain, which was why he was currently absent and she was able to get away with keeping her teammates in the dark regarding the status of her relationship, if only for a little while longer.

After all, what they didn't know would not kill them, and what they would know eventually would do nothing but give her a major headache, and Sakura was keen to avoid that for as long as she could get away with it. Itachi might be somewhat amused by how she always fretted whenever it came to predicting her teammates' reaction towards her now 'blissfully attached' status, but Sakura really didn't find it funny at all; they had always been so overprotective of her, not to mention that she was going to have to face Naruto's dramatically disappointed gaze for a long while to come when it finally occurred to him that she had been hiding a man from their 'Operation: Defend's Sakura Chastity Until She's Old and Wrinkly' campaign for the past months. And Sasuke…well, she didn't even want to think about explaining to her Uchiha teammate just how on earth she had somehow become so intimately attached to his elder brother, when it had always seemed that they barely knew each other at all.

But now was not the time to think of such awkward situations. With the exception of a few hospital staff (who were beginning to wonder just why the ANBU captain Uchiha-san would appear often, even if only periodically, to look for their head medic-nin for the past months) as well as Ino (who was well aware by now that her pink-haired friend was in a relationship with an ANBU whose identity she just couldn't seem to uncover), Sakura decided that she was still relatively safe from her teammates' impending discovery.

"Sakura-chan, you are walking sooo slowly! Hurry up, Hinata-chan is waiting for me!"

At Naruto's anxious tone, Sakura could not help but shake away her thoughts and smile at her antsy best friend. Besides, what was she thinking; to be so worried about Naruto and Sasuke's reactions? They were both Jounin, after all, and not a pair of overwrought, oversensitive old biddies. The mental imagery of a cantankerous, wrinkly Sasuke in a granny dress and a loud, grumpy Naruto in a similar attire made Sakura's smile widened slightly.

There really was nothing to worry about, Sakura decided at last. Her boys were more than capable of handling as small a surprise as this. She really should put her trust in them more.

"I'm already walking as fast as I can! Hold your horses, will you?"

* * *

The streets were crowded with people, nin and civilians alike. Food and game stalls were there in abundance, the smells of tantalizing yakitori filled the air, not to mention the mouthwatering scent of traditional Japanese snacks like dango, taiyaki, okonomiyaki and takoyaki. Sounds of chatter and laughter could be heard everywhere in Konoha, and Sasuke was being his usual grouchy, unhappy, and altogether 'unyouthful' self, as a certain Green Beast of the Leaf would bemoan.

The younger Uchiha Jounin was not impressed, however. He was glaring at the crush of people who at least had the sense to part before his imposing aura, allowing Team Seven to move very quickly through the packed streets, to the meeting area the Rookie Nine had agreed upon. Once again, Naruto loudly marveled over the usefulness of having teme around in crowded areas like this; that high and mighty, stick-in-the-you-know-where attitude sure came in handy when one was in a hurry.

Needless to say, Sasuke was not amused, and it was Sakura who had to be the peacemaker, to convince her raven-haired teammate not to stalk off in a fit of annoyance. The Uchiha really never liked being around throngs of people and noisy places, and the fact that he was here, despite his fierce dislike of the situation, clearly showed just how much he was willing to tolerate for his teammates and best friends.

In the end, Team Seven continued moving towards the meeting place, albeit with Naruto sporting a lump on his head, which he grudgingly accepted as his due for baiting the teme. Again.

By the time they arrived in the crowded village center, they were nearly half an hour late. Naruto danced his way over to his shy Hyuuga girlfriend, all puppy-like and ready to grovel for her forgiveness, never mind the fact that Hinata was just too sweet-tempered and head over heels in love with the blonde future Hokage to be mad at him in the first place. Her teammates, however, namely Kiba, were not as patient. The Inuzuka grumbled about how long they had been waiting, and that prompted a chagrinned Sakura to offer her own apology as well.

Not surprisingly, the dog user was quick to accept; this _was_ Sakura-chan after all, and she was famous for inheriting the Godaime's sucker punch and volatile temper, though she was not as likely to use it as her predecessor. Shino accepted the sincere apology as well, and just like that Team Seven had made its peace with Team Eight.

Ino, on the other hand, was not as easily placated. The irritated Yamanaka surged forth towards her best friend, all but ready to give the pink-haired female hell for being so late. Behind her, the remainder of Team Ten ambled lazily towards the rest of the group, one somewhat exasperated by his girlfriend/teammate's feisty, high strung temperament, whereas the other was too contented by the overabundance of delicious festive foodstuff to share the Nara's lazy annoyance.

"Forehead girl! You are so late!" The blonde scowled as she came to a stop before Sakura. "Do you have any idea how difficult it was to have all of us stay in one spot, fighting the crush of people for the past half an hour or so?!"

Sakura could only raise both her hands, palms up in a placating gesture.

"Sorry, Ino." The kunoichi tried to sound as contrite as possible. "I had a double shift over at the hospital today, and-"

"-and you just couldn't walk away from your cases," the Yamanaka continued irritably for her friend. "Which was why you had to rush home to change quickly and ended up late as usual."

Sakura was always so predictable, and judging by the mildly embarrassed look on the pink-haired female's face, that was exactly what had happened. Ino rolled her eyes in exasperation, and then she decided to let it go in favor of something more interesting. After all, despite all her hard work at attempting to root out the identity of Sakura's mystery lover, she was still about as close to identifying that unknown ANBU as the day she had unwittingly allowed Sakura to leave with him, shortly after the completion of their B-ranked mission a couple of months ago. The blonde started to make a show out of looking around Sakura, much to the other kunoichi's puzzlement. Still standing stoically beside his female teammate, Sasuke stared at the Yamanaka with something akin to annoyed bemusement.

"What are you looking for, Ino?" Sakura asked at last.

Ino merely continued to peer around her friend, carefully scanning the many passing faces of civilians and nin around before returning her attention to Sakura.

"You came alone?" the blonde asked bluntly.

"…I came with my team, Ino. You saw us arrive together, or did you forget already?"

Ino was not amused by Sakura's dry remark. She shot her friend an irritated stare.

"You know what I mean, forehead. Where is he?"

Even as Sakura stiffened slightly as it finally occurred to her just what Ino was asking for, Sasuke started to frown.

"Where is who?" the Uchiha asked flatly, having remained by Sakura's side the entire time since he wasn't exactly looking forward to socializing with the rest of the Rookie Nine, and god forbid, sticking around his dobe best friend whilst he romanced his girlfriend.

"No one," Sakura blurted out immediately in response, shooting a warning glance at her blonde friend while she was at it. Ino had the gall to look amused, damn her, and Sakura tried her best not to twitch with agitation.

Unfortunately, Sasuke was far from convinced. Doubt began to surface in her teammate's dark eyes, and inwardly, Sakura cursed that ridiculous paranoia that seemed to be inbred into the very genes of the proud Uchiha clan.

"What is Ino talking about?" Sasuke asked suspiciously as he regarded Sakura. The Uchiha of Team Seven had never liked secrets, especially when it had to do with the members of his team, who had somehow become his second family.

Sakura gave Ino an irritated stare of her own before turning to Sasuke. "Ino-pig is talking nonsense, as usual," the pink-haired female assured, much to said blonde's cry of outrage. Then, she looked around her, and quickly realized that the large group was beginning to pair off and head down one of the more crowded streets, where the more famous food stalls were located. Naruto's mad gesturing beside a softly smiling Hinata in her gorgeous clan kimono could not have come at a better time, and Sakura mentally wilted with relief. Saved, at least for the moment.

"Look!" the medic-nin of Team Seven exclaimed quickly, successfully diverting Sasuke's attention from her and towards Naruto instead. "Everyone is leaving the square, let's move on as well. Come with me, Ino, I want to talk to Hinata-chan."

Without another glance at her Uchiha teammate, the pink-haired kunoichi quickly snagged the arm of her Yamanaka best friend and all but hauled the protesting female towards Naruto and his sweetly shy girlfriend a distance away, leaving a somewhat nonplussed Sasuke to deal with the remaining members of Team Ten.

The very moment the three males (one rather surprised and disgruntled at the speed in which he had just been abandoned by his female teammate, the other two just secretly relieved that they wouldn't have to trail after their demanding female counterpart, if only for a little while) were out of hearing range, Sakura turned to Ino and frowned at her. "Are you trying to get me killed, Ino-pig?"

"Who? Me?" the blonde merely smiled innocently, batting those big blue eyes of hers that never failed to coax her lazy Nara boyfriend into doing anything she asked—within reason, of course. Sakura, most predictably, was not impressed. Large emerald eyes narrowed into a honed glare.

"Ino…" came the warning growl. The blonde could not help herself; she burst into laughter.

"I can't believe that you haven't told the boys yet!" Ino commented with smirk. "Or rather, that they haven't discovered it themselves yet. You know, this really makes me wonder just what kind of guy your mystery man is, for you to be so abnormally anxious and all…"

"I'm not anxious!" Sakura yelped reflexively in dismay.

Ino's smirk merely widened lazily. By now, the two kunoichi were beginning to reach Naruto and Hinata, with the remaining trio of men trailing slowly behind. The shinobi of Team Eight were ahead, almost disappearing into the crowds but not really. Kiba and his humongous dog, Akamaru, were scoping out the many different food stalls on display, all mouthwatering and enticing, whereas Shino lingered nearby his Inuzuka teammate, seeming to hold a somewhat vague conversation with the ninken-user.

"…so who is he, really?" Ino asked almost too nonchalantly. Sakura gave her best friend a withering stare, but unfortunately for her, the look washed off Ino's back like water. "Come on, Sakura. Share! I'm really curious! Are you serious about him?"

"…yes, I am."

Surprising enough, the pink-haired kunoichi's answer was immediate and serenely certain. Ino was now even more determined to find out just who this ANBU was. Sakura had always been such a workaholic, and if possible, had always been literally blind to the subject of relationships and such. Whoever her man was, Ino was sure that he must be something really special for Sakura to actually pull herself away from her demanding occupation, sit up, and take notice of him in a way that other men had failed.

"Alright. Now you really have to tell me who he is." Ino's voice was very serious, and Sakura resisted the urge to groan in dismay.

"You won't believe it, even if I tell you," the pink-haired female commented baldly. The two kunoichi fell in behind Naruto and Hinata, even as they queued for some takoyaki.

Ino appeared a little amused.

"Is this one of those 'opposites attract' kind of thing?"

Sakura paused and thought about it.

"…in a way," she admitted.

"Hmm, opposites…" Ino's mind started to work as she processed her best friend's character, as well as what her opposites might mean. At the same time, Sakura gave their orders to the ojii-san manning the takoyaki stall, leaving the Yamanaka to her own thoughts as the pink-haired female started to speak with Hinata and Naruto as they all waited for their food.

Sakura was always so soft-hearted and willing to help out those in need of aid. She was kind, and like the rest of Team Seven, very protective of her precious people. She was a workaholic; she was always striving to improve herself so that she would never see any of her friends die during her watch. Like the Godaime-sama, she was also notorious for being a lousy gambler, although she was not as sore about it as her predecessor. She was sometimes oblivious, normally greeted everyone with a small smile on her face, and was generally well-liked and respected.

So who could her other half be?

Ino accepted the platter of piping hot shrimp and octopus balls distractedly, even as she tried to identify Sakura's mystery boyfriend. Meanwhile, Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto lingered around the stall as they waited for the rest of the group to make their purchase before moving on. The Yamanaka frowned thoughtfully as she tried to put together the information that she had gathered so far. For the pretty blonde, there was nothing that could get her going faster than a mystery, especially when it had something to do with her friend and her seemingly nonexistent love life.

Sakura had shyly admitted to being kissed shortly within her first meeting with the unknown male, and judging from that described encounter, it was simple for Ino to conclude that the man was probably a very confident individual, probably very arrogant and good looking too, if the way Sakura had blushed was of any indication. It was also possible that Sakura's love interest was a rather powerful individual, as well as a rather high ranking ANBU, maybe even a captain, if all her failed snooping around Shika was to make any sense to her.

As surprising as it was, her lazy Nara boyfriend was actually one of ANBU's top strategists. Rather predictably, Shikamaru had never asked to be put in that entirely 'troublesome' position, so to speak, but nonetheless, the shadow-user found himself right smack in the midst of the most powerful organization in Konoha. Nobody with the right sense of mind would dare say 'no' to Godaime-sama, after all.

But that was not the point of irritation for Ino. No, the more annoying thing was that she was beginning to suspect Shika knew the owner of the Weasel mask, but had flatly refused to identify the shinobi for his demanding girlfriend when she had relayed her questions to him. Still, he had appeared somewhat surprised when Ino explained the reason behind her curiosity, which quickly led the blonde to believe that whoever this Weasel was, he was definitely someone whom even Shika had never suspected Sakura would have a relationship with.

Mentally, Ino began to cross-reference her hard earned information with all the shinobi whom she knew. Immediately, all the affable and 'nice' men like Rock Lee were struck off from her lengthy list. Also, the romantically attached males (Rock Lee) were omitted. There was simply no way that Sakura would tolerate being with a male who happened to be a dirty double crosser, powerful or not. In prompt order, all non-ANBU nins (also Rock Lee) were quickly eliminated as well, leaving her with rapidly shortening numbers of possible candidates.

Ino's frown deepened slightly. Confident. Arrogant. High ranking. ANBU.

And so far, there was only one such confirmed ANBU captain whom they were all familiar with.

It really wasn't a difficult conclusion for Ino to leap to.

The blonde's blue eyes widened, and in her obvious excitement, the Yamanaka quickly blessed everyone present with her new discovery.

"Sakura!" She turned to her surprised pink-haired friend, who had just bit into half of a shrimp ball balanced carefully on a stick. "I can't believe that you actually kept something like this from all of us!"

Before a bewildered Sakura could ponder on how on earth Ino was still mulling over the subject of her secret relationship, as well as ask her to let it go already, the dogged blonde forged on, determinedly and promptly dropping a bombshell on all of their heads.

"Your secret boyfriend is Hyuuga Neji!!"

* * *

_::tsuzuku::_

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Next Chapter: In which the you-know-what hits the fan!

I think I can hear some of you wondering just how on earth this is supposed to be an ItaSaku one-shot when only one half of the equation (plus meddling teammates and friends) is present in the plot. Worry not; our favorite raven-haired ANBU will make his appearance in the next (and final) chapter!

As for one unfortunate Hyuuga Neji, well…you will see!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Tentatively, 'hair clip' will probably be the final installment for my fiesta-verse non-massacre AU. At least, until the muses decides to strike again. As you can already guess from this chapter, it's going to be a lot more crack-ish than its two earlier prequels, the reaction of the various characters a tad more exaggerated than they should be in canon. Now that I have already given you peeps prior warning, don't come complaining about the OOCness of the Naruto cast! They are meant to be that way!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

For the unaware, 'teme' is an informal and extremely rude way to say 'you,' whereas 'dobe' means dead last.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

And for those who are curious, here are the definitions of the various _delicious, mouthwatering_ Japanese foodstuffs that I have mentioned earlier, once again, as according to Wikipedia:

**Takoyaki** (たこ焼き _or_ 蛸焼**?**) (literally fried or baked octopus) is a popular Japanese dumpling made of batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps (_tenkasu_), pickled ginger, konnyaku, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, green laver (_aonori_), mayonnaise, and katsuobushi (fish shavings), originating from Osaka.

**Yakitori** (焼き鳥 やきとり**?**), _grilled bird_, is a Japanese type of skewered chicken. It is made from several bite-sized pieces of chicken meat, or chicken offal, skewered on a bamboo skewer and barbecued, usually over charcoal.

**Dango**(wikt:団子**?**) is a Japanese dumpling made from _mochiko_ (rice flour), related to _mochi_. It is often served with green tea.

**Taiyaki** (鯛焼き _, literally "baked sea__bream"_**?**) is a Japanese fish-shaped cake. The most common filling is red bean paste that is made from sweetened azuki beans. Other common fillings may be custard, chocolate, or cheese. Some shops even sell taiyaki with okonomiyaki, gyoza filling, or a sausage inside. Taiyaki is made using regular pancake or waffle batter. The batter is poured into a fish-shaped mold for each side. The filling is then put on one side and the mold is closed. It is then cooked on both sides until golden brown.

**Okonomiyaki** (お好み焼き**?**) is a Japanese dish consisting of a pan-fried batter cake and various ingredients. _Okonomi_ means "what you like" or "what you want", and _yaki_ means "grilled" or "cooked" (cf. _yakitori_ and _yakisoba_); thus, the name of this dish means "cook what you like". In Japan, okonomiyaki is mainly associated with Kansai or Hiroshima areas, but is widely available throughout the country. Toppings and batters tend to vary according to region.

There are more detailed information on Wiki for those who are really interested, not to mention quite a lot of recipes floating about in the net to be tried out, for those who are brave enough, (and reasonably skilled in the culinary department) that is.

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Part two to be up next weekend!

**xXxXxXxXxX**

Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** hair clip

**Author: **paws_bells

**Beta-ed by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Haruno Sakura and Uchiha Itachi

**Type:** Two-shot (Complete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 5593

**Theme:** LJ Community, 50-shinobi theme #14, hair clip

**Rating: **T (Contains content not suitable for children)

**Disclaimer:** Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

**Summary: **fiesta-verse Non-Massacre AU. In which the truth finally comes out. In which the cat is let out of the bag. In which Ino makes a big mistake. In which Naruto is definitely not amused.

**Created on:** 06/05/08

**Completed on:** 03/08/08

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 17/01/09

* * *

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Sakura choked on her food. Her eyes watered as the delicious prawn ball went down the wrong way, and it took more than a few coughs to dislodge it.

"What?!" the pretty medic-nin croaked, her tone clearly one of disbelief over Ino's completely erroneous deduction.

_How on earth did Ino come up with something like this?!_

Unfortunately, Sakura's teammates, who happened to be close enough to listen to Ino's loud declaration, were not amused.

"_What?!!!_" One of them, namely Naruto, was quick to make his displeasure known, and rather loudly too, mind you. Sakura winced as she literally felt the air somewhere behind her shift to an atmosphere of annoyance. That would be Sasuke.

"Boyfriend?? Neji??" Not surprisingly, those were the two most horrifying words that Naruto had ever heard in his life. The blonde Jinchuuriki sounded agitated too—and was growing more so by the second. He turned himself around to look at Sakura so quickly that his pink-haired teammate was surprised he didn't accidentally twist his neck in the process. "What the hell is going on here?"

Before Sakura could even open her mouth to explain the mistake, Ino nodded in agreement, her eyes dancing with unholy cheer. Sakura promised herself to strangle the Yamanaka girl when all this was over. "Yes, just what is going on, forehead?"

Somewhere behind them, Shikamaru fought the urge to smack his hand against his forehead. Mendoukusai.

Poor Naruto looked almost betrayed by his darling heart's sister. How could Sakura-chan go off and get herself involved with Neji! Not that Neji was a very bad man; at least, the Hyuuga had reverted, becoming somewhat normal after he had beat all that 'fate and destiny' nonsense out of the older Byakugan-wielder.

B- but- but!!! It was _Neji_!! Neji and Sakura-chan together!!! Neji was Sakura-chan's secret boyfriend!

It was apparent that Naruto was about to suffer from a mental meltdown.

"Neji is not my boyfriend!"

Sakura declared immediately. Dear god, how on earth did the situation degenerate to this? "Ino is talking nonsense. I am not involved with Neji in anyway whatsoever; so you can stop hyperventilating now, Naruto."

Naruto was only too glad to calm down. So Ino had only been joking. She must be!!

The Yamanaka in question pouted.

"Mou, so who is your mystery man really, Sakura, if he isn't Neji?"

Naruto's eyes started to glaze over again with shock.

Hinata looked worriedly at her boyfriend.

"…What is Ino talking about, Sakura?"

The pink-haired medic-nin winced inwardly at the mildly displeased tone of her other teammate. Sakura turned slightly to look at him. Predictably, Sasuke was standing with his arms crossed, a small frown wrinkling his brow, lips flattened in a manner that portrayed his irritation, his dark eyes piercing hers as he demanded answers.

It was apparent to Sakura that the game was up. Like it or not, she was going to have to spill the beans today.

Once again, Sakura reminded herself to kill Ino later.

She looked first to Naruto, and then to Sasuke as she mentally geared herself for the coming barrage of questions and denials.

"You guys are not going to like this," she managed to blurt out lamely.

Sasuke scowled. Naruto clutched at his heart in a comical manner that Sakura did not appreciate at all.

"So, it really is Neji?" The blonde could not help but ask. He knew it!! That Neji-teme had always been secretly plotting ever since he had been going out with Hinata-chan! Naruto had never figured Neji to be so petty!! Just because he stole away the Hyuuga's cousin didn't mean that Neji had to do the same to his Sakura-chan! His Sakura-chan was precious! Sacred! Like the vestal virgin on an altar—never to be touched, only admired!!

Evidently, Naruto was on a roll.

"It's not Neji."

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't Sakura who made the denial. The surprised pink-haired kunoichi turned to look at the indolent Nara.

"Mendoukusai…" the pineapple-haired man could only mumble irritably.

Ino lit up, literally, like a light bulb.

"Ahah! I was right!! You know who he is, don't you, Shika?!"

The man in questioned palmed his face. Sakura looked like she wanted to do the same as well, only she was still holding a stick of shrimp takoyaki in one hand and another box of it in the other.

"Tell us who he is, Shika!"

But the Nara was proving to be more resilient than his lazy countenance proved to be.

"No," Shikamaru refuted the request of his curious girlfriend flatly. "You should respect the privacy of your best friend. This is a matter between herself and her lover; you don't really need to know about it."

Poor Naruto turned blue.

"L- lover?!" the blonde sputtered. He was still having trouble getting over 'boyfriend,' and now Shikamaru had just dropped the 'L'-word bombshell on him, just like that.

Sakura turned bright red.

Sasuke just looked plain uncomfortable. Sakura's private life really was something he didn't need to contemplate.

"It was just a figure of speech, you idiot!" the pink-haired female hissed. "Nothing happened between myself and-"

She stopped abruptly.

"Yourself and who?" Ino probed nosily.

Sakura quickly decided that she was doing a great job digging herself a deeper and deeper hole. The fact that Naruto was looking so very betrayed made her feel even worse. The kunoichi took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She really shouldn't have to feel this way.

But the cat was already out of the bag, and belatedly, the pink-haired kunoichi realized that she had made a mistake when she had decided to keep her relationship with Itachi a secret. Hell, she should have dragged the man down the streets the very moment she could, screaming to all her romantic involvement with the stoic Uchiha clan heir.

Sakura prepared to admit the truth, but it was too late.

It was as if a lightning bolt of recognition had suddenly struck Sasuke, and his eyes widened in stunned realization.

"That dagger…"

He had finally remembered just where he had seen that decorative weapon.

It was part of a set of his mother's heirlooms, passed down from her family line to every firstborn daughter. And since Mikoto had birthed no girl child, the heirloom would naturally be passed on to…

The bride of the eldest son.

Sasuke looked like he had just run straight into a wall, so dazed did the normally sharp-eyed Uchiha appear all of a sudden.

Sakura was involved with his brother, and the fact that Itachi had given her part of the heirloom set…

Simply unbelievable. All the 'when's' and 'how's' flooded into Sasuke's head, not to mention all the unbidden mental images of his brother and Sakura together, doing what lovers do…

Sasuke wanted to _scratch_ his brain out with a _toothpick_. Of all the men Sakura could get involved with…!!

Judging by the overdone constipated expression on Sasuke, it was apparent that he had finally figured out who her other half was. Sakura winced inwardly at the disturbed look on Sasuke's face.

"He gave you that dagger…"

Sasuke sounded a little dazed.

Naruto, on the other hand, grabbed onto the topic immediately.

"Dagger?! Are you talking about that pretty-looking dagger in Sakura-chan's apartment?" The blonde began to bellow. "Who gave it to her?!!"

Sakura was so astounded by how quickly the entire situation was going downhill that she took a quick step backwards.

She ran into someone, no doubt a passerby who was enjoying the festivities in a way that she was clearly not, distractedly muttered an apology without even looking at the person before taking a step forward again.

At the same time, Shikamaru started to tug at Ino. "This is getting ridiculous. Let's go."

Somehow, the Nara was not surprised when his hand was merely batted away from his entranced girlfriend. Ino had always had a strange fixation for drama, and the one unfolding before her was probably as juicy as it was ever going to get. Not to mention, she still hadn't gotten the identity of Sakura's secret boyfriend yet.

Shikamaru sighed irritably. Why did he choose to be involved with such a bothersome woman?

"Naruto, why are you so agitated?" Sakura asked at last.

"Wh- Why am I so agitated?!" Naruto sputtered even as he fought to be heard above the crowd. "You are going behind my back with a boyfriend!! You can't do that!!"

Sakura obviously did not like what she was hearing. She started to frown.

"And why not?" the kunoichi asked.

Naruto scowled.

"We are a team; that's why not! We should do everything together!"

Sakura looked nonplussed by her blonde brother's answer.

Sasuke looked downright queasy.

"I certainly hope not," the younger Uchiha muttered.

Hinata, who had been trying to calm Naruto down, but to no avail, turned bright red. So did Naruto, for that matter.

"Hentai!! That was not what I meant!" the blonde frantically defended himself. "Sakura-chan, why didn't you tell us that you had a boyfriend!" he wailed. "I thought that we were like sworn siblings; we are a family!"

Sakura felt guilty immediately.

"Naruto, I just didn't want you to overreact." She tried to placate her friend with the truth. "I just-"

Naruto cut her off before she could finish.

"Oh, sure. Why on earth would I overreact? You are only going out with Neji!" His sarcasm was glaringly obvious.

Sasuke scowled.

"It's not the Hyuuga." Now that the younger Uchiha had time to think of it, Sakura was certainly better off with an Uchiha than a Hyuuga, even if he had to force himself to see past the fact that his teammate was having…relations with his brother.

It didn't seem like Naruto even heard what Sasuke was saying.

"Sakura-chan, we are supposed to protect you! What are we going to do if you got your heart broken by some honky-tonk man?"

Sakura was beginning to look exasperated. Naruto was obviously being ridiculous.

"I don't think Neji-san is a 'honky-tonk' man," the pink-haired kunoichi muttered dryly.

Naruto despaired, even as two thirds of Team Ten watched the drama unfold in the middle of the streets.

"So I was right! It _was_ Neji!"

"It's not Neji!" Sakura denied, starting to get frazzled by the situation. What on earth had all of them been discussing the entire time?! And what's wrong with Naruto, going on and on about the Hyuuga ANBU?

"If it's not him, then why did you accept Neji's dagger?! I saw it in your living room! Don't deny it!"

"For the love of god-" Sakura broke off. "Can you stop talking about Neji? No, the dagger is not his, and no, I am not involved with him whatsoever!!"

An annoyed Sakura bellowed back at her heart's brother, frustrated with his assumptions.

Slightly stunned by the normally not-so-temperamental Sakura, Naruto managed to shut up. Even Sasuke appeared mildly surprised, but that did not last long when he caught a glimpse of just who was currently standing behind the agitated, heaving female. The younger Uchiha stiffened.

"Itachi."

Sakura, who had been mercilessly hounded and was getting very harried by all the attention on her love life, quickly snapped.

"That's right, I have been seeing Uchiha Itachi!" the pink-haired medic-nin burst out at last. "Are all of you happy now?"

"Very."

The soft breath that brushed across her ear was so very familiar that Sakura froze immediately in surprise. She wasn't the only one.

_He was here. _

He was here. Shikamaru eyed the powerful Uchiha currently standing _very_ close behind Sakura, his lean form towering over hers in an almost menacing manner, if not for the fact that the pink-haired kunoichi in question didn't appear alarmed at all by his proximity.

Ino could only look on in stunned awe at the raven-haired ANBU captain, still dressed in his combat uniform, obviously just returned from a mission. With the exception of Shikamaru (who really didn't care one way or another), the small group of Jounin could only watch in a stumped stupor as a masculine, gloved arm slipped casually around Sakura's waist as he boldly stepped even closer to her, and then the powerful Uchiha heir actually _nuzzled_ her hair once with undisguised affection, before turning his attention to the group of people gaping at himself and Sakura.

The truth was out, and there was nothing more that Itachi wanted.

He nodded cordially at Sakura's teammates.

"Otouto. Naruto-kun."

Naruto's mouth was hanging wide open in shock. Oh no. _Oh no_. If Neji was bad news, this man standing protectively over his Sakura-chan was downright disastrous.

Catastrophic!

After all, he knew the Uchiha well enough to understand that the members of the clan were a bunch of ridiculously obsessive people, and since this guy was all but rubbing himself against Sakura like a satisfied, overly pleased tomcat, something told Naruto that it was going to be very difficult to separate him from their Sakura-chan.

"You are Uchiha Itachi," Ino blurted out in surprise. "Oh…_oh_." The blonde Yamanaka looked at her bemused best friend. Sakura was so very sly!! She had landed one of Konoha's most eligible bachelors and she was still acting all shy and modest about it.

Sakura was going to be in for an earful the next time they meet for some girl time!!

"…Aren't you supposed to be on a mission?" Sakura asked at last, even as she tried to discreetly move out of his reach. He did not let her go; if anything, his hold on her tightened slightly, and people passing by were starting to notice.

Sasuke twitched.

"It was completed early," Itachi answered easily. Finally, he deigned to let her go, moving to stand by her side instead.

Sasuke quickly took the moment to speak, before his brother could do something potentially embarrassing again.

"Aniki," the younger Uchiha muttered as he shot a quick glance at a hyperventilating Naruto. "Do you care to explain what is going on here?"

The long, raven-haired male met his brother's gaze calmly.

"Sakura and I are involved."

Naruto choked on the words. "I- Involved?"

A small light of amusement appeared in the Uchiha heir's eyes at the look of panic on the blonde's face. Itachi nodded.

"So you were the one who gave her that dagger."

The Kyuubi Jinchuuriki sounded almost accusing. The older Uchiha raised a dark brow.

"Is there a problem with that, Naruto-kun?" he asked mildly.

Naruto gurgled unintelligibly, and Hinata tried in vain to soothe her boyfriend.

Sakura made a sound of distress, but Sasuke had had about enough of this entire situation.

The Uchiha didn't come all the way here in the middle of this appalling crush of loud, sweaty humanity just to muddle through his brother's love life.

"Forget it, that's all I need to know," Sasuke muttered, "Aniki, just take Sakura and go."

Naruto looked at Sasuke disbelievingly.

"Hello?! I can't help but notice you just asked Sakura to go off with some strange man!"

Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes at his idiot teammate.

"He's my brother, you idiot, not some strange man," the Uchiha of Team Seven retorted. "And he gave her the dagger, so don't worry."

Naruto glared.

"I'm not supposed to worry because your brother gave Sakura a _dagger_? What kind of stupid logic is that?!"

Shikamaru sighed loudly. "I think there is nothing more to see here, Ino. Let's go look for Chouji." For once, the lazy man assertively ignored his girlfriend's protests and started to tow her away.

"Don't leave with that honky-tonk man, Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out. "He might be dangerous!!!"

Sasuke really did roll his eyes this time.

"Shut up, dobe." The younger Uchiha was really regretting that he had agreed to attend the festival tonight. He wasn't being paid enough for this. He wasn't being paid at all, period.

"No, _you_ shut up, teme! Sakura-chan!"

Sakura had enough of this.

"Naruto!" The pink-haired kunoichi looked at her best friend, willing the distraught man to look at her. He did; Sakura seldom used that particular tone unless she was very serious about something.

"I like Itachi, Naruto," she confessed to her best friend, even as a part of her could hardly believe that she was doing so in the middle of the street crowded with people. "I really like him. Please be happy for me."

Naruto froze. The soft, beseeching look on his sister's face made him feel a twinge of guilt, and he quickly realized that he had been discomforting her with his own panic and worry. It made him pause and think. For once.

"Naruto…" Sakura called out again when shadows obscured the blonde's eyes. "Are you really unhappy because I'm having a relationship? If so-"

"No," the foxy Jounin admitted at last. "I'm unhappy because I worry that you may be hurt." Naruto spoke his worst fear. "I don't want you to be hurt, Sakura-chan. I want to protect you, but I can't do that if you keep things from me."

Emerald eyes softened.

"I just didn't want you to worry, Naruto."

"Well, but I am!" the blonde muttered. "I don't want to either, but I am!" he paused, and then he started again. "Are you sure you don't want Neji instead? The Hyuuga are rather nice, transparent people, you know. 359° x-ray vision and all."

Sakura could only smile at Naruto's hopeful tone.

Then Itachi interrupted.

"Sakura is already taken, Naruto-kun," the raven-haired Uchiha spoke with surety. "I'm sure I can keep her busy enough that she won't be looking for an alternative lover."

Sakura blushed. So did Naruto. Sasuke had a mixture of disturbed horror on his face.

The younger Uchiha started to take an involuntary step away from his brother, managed to catch himself in time, and ended up scowling very hard instead.

"Itachi. Take Sakura and go," the uptight Jounin almost commanded his brother. "I will explain to Naruto about the meaning of the dagger. He won't bother the two of you again, hopefully."

Even Sakura was bewildered.

"Meaning of the dagger?" she echoed as she looked at him.

Itachi merely gave her a small glance.

"I will explain later."

* * *

Predictably enough, Naruto had not been very happy when Sakura left with Itachi. He had no choice, however. Even Hinata had sided with Sakura and Sasuke, and in the end, the blonde could only put on a sickly smile after his dear girlfriend had whispered some words into his ears, saying with great reluctance that they would continue this tomorrow, and to enjoy tonight's festivities with her _male_ _friend_.

Naruto could not even say the 'B'-word without choking, and even though Sakura cringed inwardly at Naruto's behavior, a sideways glance at her other half only revealed amusement at the blonde's antics.

It just figured that Itachi would have been amused by Naruto's predicament, of all things.

Eventually, though, the group dispersed after Hinata promised to tell the rest of the original group that Sakura had to leave early, and to relay her apologies for her sudden absence as well, and then the remaining of the Rookie Nine went one way, whereas the pink-haired kunoichi and her lover went the other.

Itachi must have appeared rather imposing in his ANBU uniform, for the crowds parted easily for him and his beautiful companion, and eventually, they found themselves back in the training grounds, where their relationship had started at first in a rather unconventional manner.

It was quiet here compared to the loud, boisterous joviality of those intent on celebrating the festivals in the downtown portion of Konoha, but Sakura secretly preferred the peaceful silence compared to the overwhelming crush of people her teammates were no doubt stuck in the middle of at this very moment. Belatedly, Sakura almost felt guilty for leaving a completely displeased Sasuke to fend for himself all alone in the middle of such a great amount of humanity, but then she quickly pushed the thought aside. Sasuke could take care of himself, Sakura was rather certain of that.

Meanwhile, there was his brother to contend with.

"Well, that went well."

Onyx eyes glimmered as he looked upon the pink-haired female currently staring morosely at the trickling stream.

"Indeed." The mild amusement in his tone was apparent, almost like an 'I-told-you-so,' when he had calmly advised against hiding their relationship from her closest people. Sakura was immediately disgruntled. So she had made an error in judgment; now what?

"Your brother and Naruto are going to gang up on me tomorrow," she muttered dourly.

"You worry too much," he replied. "Sasuke has already come to an understanding regarding my relationship with you. I'm sure he will be able to convince Naruto-kun to do the same as well."

Sakura looked at him suspiciously.

"What understanding?" she asked, even as a thought occurred to her. "Does it have to do with that dagger nonsense that both my teammates were going on and on about earlier on?"

The irritating man had the gall to give her an ambiguous shrug, and then he folded his lean form to the ground and gestured for her to sit as well.

She frowned at him, and gestured at her kimono-clad form.

"I can't sit on the ground in this," she informed him primly. "It is going to get dirty."

He didn't even blink at her comment.

"You can sit on my lap," he offered mildly.

She could only stare at him, and he merely arched a thin brow.

"Sit down, Sakura, or you won't be hearing a word regarding the dagger from me."

The kunoichi narrowed her eyes at his deviousness, but when he was unmoved, she stubbornly gathered the material of her kimono and hiked the ankle-length, silky material all the way past her knees, revealing the delicate arch of her ankles and a milky expanse of smooth skin in the process. His brow lifted a tiny fraction higher at the sight, but when she prepared to kneel to sit on the back of her calves in the traditional manner, he easily caught hold of her wrist and pulled her to him instead. She tumbled onto his lap with a muffled yelp, a beguiling mix of long, pale limbs and crimson silk.

It was a startlingly familiar position that she found herself in, and he watched her in a bemused manner.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Itachi!" Sakura could only growl with displeasure. "Do you have any idea at all how difficult it is not to rumple this kimono? Look at what you have done!"

Oh, Itachi was looking, alright.

His eyes darkened with genuine pleasure, and he ducked down slightly to deliver a long, languid kiss on her lips to stop her protests.

"Sakura," he whispered against her soft, parted lips. "Have I told you that you look exceptionally beautiful today?"

Her breath stilled in her throat at his heavy-eyed stare, and she could only blush at his gentle compliment.

"Are you trying to distract me?" she asked, her voice a little too husky for her own liking.

His eyes half-lidded, and he looked at her from behind sooty, dense lashes that were almost feminine in nature.

"It depends," he drawled lazily, even though his eyes were gleaming with a different kind of playfulness. "Is it working?"

He was obviously flirting with her, and such an occurrence was so very rare that her mouth went completely dry and her mind went blank. It took her two tries, but at last she came up with a proper retort.

"No, it's not," she managed at last.

The masculine amusement that filled his eyes was blatantly obvious in the face of her white lie.

"That's a pity." There was something in his soft, lilting tone that made her heart race despite herself. Sakura shook her head inwardly to try to bring her thoughts back to the situation at hand.

"Now tell me what you mean about that dagger you gave me."

He dropped a kiss upon her mouth, before withdrawing slightly to look at her, the playfulness in his eyes fading slightly to reveal his usual seriousness.

"It is part of a set of heirlooms," he explained simply. "It was passed down from my mother's family, from mother to daughter, for as long as she could remember."

Sakura looked at him, surprised.

"Heirloom?" she echoed, aghast. "And you just left it in my house like that? Take it back right now, before your mother realizes that it has gone missing!"

"My mother is well aware of the dagger's whereabouts, Sakura."

It took a brief moment for his calm reply to hit home, and hit it did.

Sakura gawked at his casual reply.

"Your mother _knew_ you gave an heirloom to me, a stranger?" she sounded surprised. "And she didn't come knocking on my door, demanding to have it back?"

She truly was completely oblivious when it came to certain matters.

His eyes warmed with increasing affection.

"No." His voice was gentle as he told her the truth. "She's hoping to pass them over to you, one at a time."

"Pass them over to-"

Her mesmerizing emerald eyes flared with genuine shock, and it was evident that she had finally realized what he was trying to say. Immediately, she started to look slightly wary.

"What does that mean?" she asked cautiously.

He tilted his head slightly at her. It just figured that she wouldn't be jumping for joy at the implication that she had just received. Itachi normally wasn't one to boast, but his family was considered a rather prestigious clan that most would have jumped to sink their claws into, but evidently, Sakura had been taught to be suspicious when it came to dealings with the noble clans, no doubt a behavior picked up from her powerful mentor, the Godaime Hokage-sama.

He approved of her caution.

"It means this."

He took one hand off her waist, reached into his vest, and extracted an exquisite, jeweled hair stick that could easily serve as a senbon. The familiar design of the semi-precious stones encrusted in the delicate lacquered wood accessory easily informed her that this was probably yet another piece from his family's heirloom set. She stiffened in realization and tried to back away from him, but he was having none of it, and besides, he had a much longer reach on her than she had on him, and thus, it was easy for him to slip the elegant hairpiece in amongst the bun that she had tied her lustrous pink hair in.

She emitted a soft sound of objection at his action, but he easily silenced her with a kiss on her parted lips.

"Your clan-" She started to protest, only for him to drop another kiss on the side of her mouth. She sighed.

"-is not for you to worry about," he answered her. Then he casually dropped another bomb on her "My parents are aware of my courtship of you, and they approve."

She gaped at him.

"A-approve?" she stuttered in genuine shock.

Mikoto had been thoroughly relieved that her seemingly asexual son had a love interest after all, though Fugaku had only been reluctantly satisfied that the girl in question possessed the adequate abilities and connections to make her an advantage to the clan, even though she lacked the name of a prestigious family, should Itachi persist on pursuing the kunoichi. The head of the proud Uchiha House had no idea whatsoever that his son had no intention of including Sakura in any of the clan's schemes to gain more power, and by developing an interest in his younger brother's teammate, had immediately gained an invaluable ally within the family to help him in protecting his future mate.

There was still a lot more to accomplish, favors to be called in, subtle threats to be made, compromises to be reached before he could safely and steadily eliminate all the possible threats, political or otherwise, that may pose a danger to her. Like a brilliant chess master, he was already slowly and subtly making his moves, discreetly covering his bases and foreseeing all the possible outcomes like the strategist that he had been groomed from birth to become, and this time around, he had no qualms whatsoever using it against his clan if he had to.

Having Sakura by his side would be the only indulgence that he would allow himself, and he was meticulous enough to want to ensure that absolutely nothing would go wrong when it came to her.

However, there was still some way to go before he was confident enough to claim that he had his clan's situation fully in hand, and until then, he wouldn't be able to bring Sakura into the clan the way he wanted; in his own terms, and not that of his overbearing, controlling family.

That didn't mean he couldn't start to acquaint and accustom Sakura to the notion that he fully wanted her still, that he had a staked claim over her, one that he would eventually fulfill when the time was ripe.

The woman in question, however, was understandably nowhere near as certain of her position compared to the raven-haired male who had evidently decided that he was going to keep her. It was a good thing that he was wise enough not to tell her of his intentions yet; normally placid and mild-mannered or no, she would never have tolerated that type of condescension, not even from him.

He was going to have to convince her slowly, and it was a good thing that he had all the time in the world when it came to her.

"Itachi…what exactly are you trying to say?" Sakura asked cautiously after she forcibly pulled herself out of the daze that he had singlehandedly pushed her into. And how did his parents know of their secret relationship? Did he tell them himself? Not to mention, the ramifications of his parents' approval were dizzying—and relieving. Sakura did not know what she would do if Fugaku-san and Mikoto-san disapproved of her relationship with their eldest son, but she knew enough that she was beginning to care so much for the raven-haired ANBU that she wasn't going to give him up easily, not even if she had to fight to remain by his side.

The realization shook her, as well as the depth of fierce emotions that stirred to life at the thought of a possible separation from Itachi. It made her eyes gleam with new resolve. Sakura really did not know what she would do alright, but anyone trying to take him away from her had better be prepared for an ugly and violent confrontation.

She looked at him.

"Are you trying to…court me?"

He shook his head, much to her inner disappointment.

Then he spoke.

"I have been courting you since the second week after we met during the summer festival," he clarified, much to her surprise. "I think I may have progressed well beyond 'courtship' now."

Sakura pinkened. She had been blissfully oblivious, as usual.

But Itachi was not done yet. "I would like a small measure of assurance in return." He watched her intently as he made his request, watched as she mulled over his words and drew her own conclusion.

"Small measure of assurance?" she repeated with a small frown.

He nodded once, and then his gaze became absolutely demanding as it pierced into hers.

"Accept my suit, Sakura."

She looked him straight in the eyes.

"Are you serious about this?" she asked him solemnly. "Because I am, and I want to know that you are just as fully committed to this relationship as myself."

His onyx eyes were calm, patient.

Waiting for her to come to him.

"I wouldn't have asked, if I didn't mean what I said."

His quiet assurance was more than enough for her.

Sakura lifted her hand and touched the elaborate hairpiece gently. It had been a relic of the past, and now, it was the symbol of her future. He had never made a promise he couldn't keep, and just for that alone, she knew that he wanted her by his side. This wasn't going to be a promise to be made and remembered temporarily, just in the heat of the moment. If she accepted him now, she would have as good as sealed her fate.

For he was never going to let her go.

But yet, Sakura couldn't think of anywhere else she would rather be but with him. He was so much more than most had seen, and Sakura was only too glad that he had chosen her to reveal his true self to. It made her very protective of him, which was ridiculous, since he had proven time and again to be more than capable of defending himself, and those under his watch as well. But her feelings refused to be denied, and like it or not, she would watch over him in the same manner he was looking over her.

If she chose this, she would never be able to let him go, either.

Her eyes never left his, and a small, gentle smile graced her lips as they sat there, in the abandoned training ground where their unlikely story had first begun. The uncertainty had faded away, leaving behind a pure, sure trust in the man before her, the belief that he would not let her down shining true in her soft emerald gaze.

She would be his.

"It would be my greatest honor, to accept this."

* * *

_::owari::_

* * *

**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Ahaha, I have no idea who to pity more; Naruto for the repeated heart attacks that he's given, or Neji for having his name dragged through the mud this tragic evening. You readers can make that decision, huh?

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I know that this started out funny and ended somewhat mushy in the end, and even though there was no fixed 'they got married and lived happy-ever-after' for this particular verse (definitely not with all the murky clan politics floating around), there was at least a hint or two of their romantic relationship as well as to the direction they were heading, which was what I was aiming for anyhow. Yay for subtleness! Including ramen-verse Itachi (who I admit is sort of a dork but will still probably emote about as much as the other verses' Itachis, if only a little nicer), I just can't see a spontaneous Itachi who goes forth spouting promises of forever and eternity without ensuring that he could back it up first.

At least, that's my theory.

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So here ends 'hair clip.' Hope you guys enjoyed the ride. I know I certainly had lots of fun writing it! Like I had mentioned in the previous chapter, this installment will tentatively be the last of the fiesta-verse series, at least, until inspiration strikes again, eh?

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Once again, if the Naruto cast had reacted in a crack-ish, OOC manner in 'hair clip,' it's purely intentional!

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Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws


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